In this episode Rob and Jared continue to talk about the “how” of tech integration, but they discuss it from the perspective of accessibility with Lauren Eissler--User Experience Designer and Editor for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University. In their conversation, they define accessibility and discuss best practices for making more content accessible to students. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

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Before digging into how to effectively make content accessible, it’s important to ask: “what is accessibility?” A basic definition of accessibility is to ensure that the course is accessible to all students, regardless of disability or challenge. 

It is also important to understand why instructors should make their content more accessible. We need to make sure our content is readable for tools like screen readers that help create opportunities for learning for all students. Accessibility also helps remove roadblocks so that students can access content. For example, video captions can help students focus and make it so that students can easily watch videos in noisy areas or without headphones.

Pay attention to how you style or structure your content. Here are some pointers: 

• Use headers instead of increasing size and stylizing paragraph text 
• Include transcriptions/closed captioning when possible. 
• Avoid colored text 
• Use alternative text for images – keep it simple and specific (ideally under 120 characters) 

There is an easy-to-use accessibility checker in Canvas. Use it to check your existing content or before you publish something new.

We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.

Resources 

Using the Accessibility Checker in Canvas 

W3C’s Web Accessibility Institute 

Universal Design for Learning 

Heading Accessibility in Word
WebAIM Contrast Checker

FOCUS BLOG: 

• Three Tips to Improve Accessibility in Your Course 
• Introduction to Accessibility Series 
• Accessibility Best Practices: Captioning, Graphics, and Alt Text 
• Accessibility Best Practices: Color and Text 

In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss the “how” of technology integration and the practical framework SAMR. They talk about how instructors can utilize this framework to integrate technology with their courses. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better. 

SAMR, an acronym for the four levels of technology integration, was created by Ruben Puentedura and is a practical framework for technology integration. 

• Substitution: technology is a direct tool substitute with no functional change. 
• Augmentation: technology acts as a direct tool substitute with functional improvement. 
• Modification: technology allows for significant task redesign. 
• Redefinition: technology allows for the creation of new tasks previously inconceivable. 

According to Puentedura, substitution is the lowest level of integration; redefinition is the highest. Substitution and augmentation are seen as methods of improving learning tasks. Modification and redefinition can lead to transformed learning tasks. 

Research has shown that educators integrate technology at the substitution and augmentation level, so how do we push ourselves into the complex levels? Here are some tips:  

• Schedule time to try it out. Put it on your calendar and hold to it. Create an opportunity to try. 
• Be willing to fail (yeah, I know that’s hard to read). Remember that failure isn’t failure; it’s feedback. 
• Build a network of other educators. Maybe they failed already, and you can learn from them! 

Questions to ask (from 3plearning.org) 

• What am I hoping to achieve by using this technology? 
• How will it make a difference to my students’ learning? 
• Why is it preferable to not using technology? 
• How equipped are my students and I to use this technology? 
• How much time do I have to invest in making it work? 

What are your thoughts? Send us an email at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please consider filling out our survey to help us improve. 

Resources 

SAMR: A Brief Introduction (slideshow) 

How to Apply the SAMR Model with Ruben Puentedura (video) 

How to Use Technology in the Classroom: Benefits and Effects  

Applying the SAMR model to aid your digital transformation 

In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss the “why” of technology integration and how it relates to servant teaching. They talk about how effective technology integration can improve student engagement and help students understand content better. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources. We would love to get your feedback! Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.

Technology integration directly relates to servant teaching—it’s a great way for us to prepare our students for their future. We can demonstrate proper technology usage and practice through our instruction. Our goal should be to impart wisdom and to help students work through the proper use of technology and develop 21st Century skills. Using technology effectively serves students because it can meet their immediate needs. It can bridge learning gaps and help students understand content better. Technology can also improve student engagement by personalizing instruction and giving students a voice and choice. 

Learn how to use the technology that fits best with your content so you can teach others. Technology integration comes with a caveat: make sure you’re using the right tools for the job. Don’t pick technology for technology integration’s sake. Consider using technology that complements your instruction and your content and helps meet your students’ needs. 

What are your thoughts? Send us an email at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please consider filling out our survey to help us improve. 

Resources 

Why do we need technology integration? 

In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss the “what” of technology integration. They delve into the definition of technology integration and best practices, using ChatGPT as their co-pilot. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources. 

We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better. 

Webster’s definition of technology is expansive. For the sake of our series, we will be limiting our discussion to the use of electronic hardware or software in educational settings that enhance the learning experience. It is important that we as instructors consider integrating technology that fits the needs of our students, our goals, and our instruction.  
 

Technology can be used before, during, and after instruction. Consider how it can help you plan and deliver your content as well as assess your students. Consider using technology for facilitating interaction or collaboration purposes. Because of advances in technology, students can engage with your content anytime and anywhere. 

We can enhance teaching and learning through appropriate technology integration. However, this does take time and consideration. We can also help students learn the ethics and responsibility of using technology. Every time we ask students to use technology, we are allowing them to practice technical, responsible, and safe usage of technology. This can help them as they engage in your course and throughout their lives.  

What are your thoughts? Send us an email at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please consider filling out our survey to help us improve.

Resources 

What is successful technology integration? 

In this episode, Rob and Jared introduce their next series on technology integration. They talk about using technology as a teaching method to enhance a student’s understanding of the content rather than just integrating it for its own sake. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources. 

We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.

Early on as a teacher, Jared started exploring how technology integration could be used in his classes. He discovered that embracing technology integration allows both students to engage the content in a new way and the teacher to use it as a tool for enhancing a student’s understanding of the content. It isn’t about “technology for technology’s sake” but rather using technology as a teaching method that will serve the student. This concept of “technology as a tool” can aid a teacher in making content more accessible and understandable. 

Jared and Rob used ChatGPT to generate a list of the benefits of integrating technology into teaching and learning. Technology integration can increase effectiveness of content delivery, provide personalized instruction, and give helpful student data. It can also enhance collaboration and aid in research. However, when integrating technology, we must also consider accessibility of content and whether students have access to the technology.  

Students can learn 21st century skills through technology integration. However, technology integration can become a crutch for students, relying on the technology instead of thinking critically. Regardless of how we decide to integrate technology, we must consider our students first and whether the technology we choose will serve them best in understanding our content. 

What are your thoughts? Send us an email at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please consider filling out our survey to help us improve. 

Resources 

Using digital technology to promote higher education learning: The importance of different learning activities and their relations to learning outcomes.  

Educational technology: How important is it in today’s education industry? 

In this episode, Rob and Jared have a conversation with Dr. Heather Kuruvilla, senior professor of biology at Cedarville University. “Dr. K,” as she is known by her students, earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from State University of New York at Buffalo. She has a passion for developing curiosity and motivation in her students and also takes strides to make her content more accessible and interactive for students. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

Dr. K came to Cedarville to build the undergraduate research program because she sees teaching students as an opportunity for discipleship. Teaching research means that she is closely working with her students through every semester, and she encourages students to ask questions and find solutions. She stresses that she is on students’ side and wants to help them in whatever way she can.  

Dr. K recently introduced an online textbook as a way of helping lower costs for her students. This “Inclusive Access” pricing lowers the cost for students, but Dr. K also sees significant benefit beyond the cost. Because of the interactive features of the textbook, she has found that students are more engaged with the textbook and therefore more engaged with the content. She also implements Open Education Resources (OERs) to address content areas that the textbook is lacking in and help make content more accessible for both faculty and students.  

The love a faculty member has for their subject matter is contagious, and Dr. K encourages new faculty to pass that love on to their students and never give up on them.   

Resources 

- What is OER? 

- Inclusive Access Pricing Through OhioLink 

In this episode, Rob and Jared wrap up the servant teaching series. They highlight crucial points from their various guests and present some of their own takeaways on applying servant teaching. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources. 

Servant teaching defines who we are as believers in Christ, but any instructor—regardless of belief—can use servant teaching principles in their instruction. To implement servant teaching, consider these takeaways from our series.  

1. Be willing to reflect. Keep notes throughout the semester of topics that went well or didn’t go as planned. Make adjustments for the next time the course runs. Consider recording yourself or having someone observe you. Sometimes we are not aware of how we are teaching when we are in the midst of it. 
2. Consider the whole student. Use a holistic approach versus just connecting with the student just through the content. How can you listen to your students to prepare them for the next steps after they finish your class? Pay attention to the interests of your students as well. Is there are specific topic that they are really keying in on? Consider spending more time on it. Do they have goals that you can help them reach? How can you help them achieve those goals?  
3. Focus on one area of improvement. Don’t try everything at once! Servant teaching is a process, not an overnight change. 

Resources 

Amerstorfer, C. M., & Freiin von Munster-Kistner, C. (2021). Student Perceptions of Academic Engagement and Student-Teacher Relationships in Problem-Based Learning. Front Psychol, 12, 713057. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713057 

Sybing, R. (2019). Making Connections: Student-Teacher Rapport in Higher Education Classrooms. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v19i5.26578  

Tormey, R. (2021). Rethinking student-teacher relationships in higher education: a multidimensional approach. Higher Education, 82(5), 993-1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00711-w 

FOCUS Blog: Introducing Servant Teaching   

FOCUS Blog: Servant Teaching: Listening and Learning  

FOCUS Blog: Four Practical Steps For Servant Teaching 

In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Thomas Mach, the Vice President for Academics and a professor of history at Cedarville University. Dr. Mach—who received his PhD from the University of Akron—talks about motivating students to understand the importance of the content of a course. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

Dr. Mach runs study sessions with his students which have a direct correlation to his philosophy of education. He wants to remove ambiguity and help students understand what is important as well as pique their interest in the content and communicate the importance of the class. The study sessions do this by helping students synthesize and reflect on content. There is an assumption that if we just impart information, students will take advantage of the opportunity. Servant teaching includes showing students why something is important as well as motivating them. 

In servant teaching, there is still an authority structure (teacher – student), but we can demonstrate that we care about students’ success. We need to be more than just content deliverers; we need to show care for their maturity, spiritual maturity, and academic success. To that end, Dr. Mach pays attention to his students’ feedback on course content. He will spend more time on a topic that students are more interested in and modify the course accordingly.

Resources 

• FOCUS Blog: Introducing Servant Teaching   
• FOCUS Blog: Servant Teaching: Listening and Learning  
• FOCUS Blog: Four Practical Steps For Servant Teaching 

In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Professor Jim Leightenheimer, associate professor of Communication at Cedarville University. He has a M.A. in Telecommunications Management from Ohio University. Mr. Leightenheimer—“Mr. L”—talks about mentoring students and equipping them for life after their undergraduate degree. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

“If we work marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving upon tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity.” - Daniel Webster 

Mr. Leightenheimer believes that a key element of servant teaching is knowing your students well. He does this by building relationships with them to identify their desires and skills. He wants to create a passion for course content but also wants to be more than just a content deliverer. This kind of approach to teaching requires time and investment in your students. 

Mr. L challenges faculty to meet with students outside the classroom, be it through co-curricular activities (in his case: through student-run radio “Resound,” conferences, and team-building trips) or through advising sessions. These activities create opportunities for us to recognize a student’s unique gifts and seek out opportunities for students so that they can use their gifts effectively.  

He also realizes the importance of preparing students for life outside of college. Mr. L makes connections with his network of alumni to help meet students’ needs of finding future employers. He has built a substantial network of professionals and alums to provide opportunities for students to connect with mentors.

• FOCUS Blog: Introducing Servant Teaching  
• FOCUS Blog: Servant Teaching: Listening and Learning 
• FOCUS Blog: Four Practical Steps For Servant Teaching 

In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Tom Hutchison. Dr. Hutchison – who received his PhD in Education from Marquette University and currently teaches in the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Cedarville University – talks about servant teaching and preparing students for their careers and lives. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

Dr. Hutchison identified four variables in teaching: teacher, student, content, and context. Our understanding and reflection of each of those can help strengthen our teaching and make us better servant teachers. According to Dr. Hutchison, servant teaching is not necessarily a practice he employs, but a part of his nature and his mission because of his relationship with Jesus.

It is important to make sure our instruction is student-centered. Dr. Hutchison reminds us that we are not teaching content; we are teaching students. He even goes as far to plan his course with pictures of his students on his desk. What are students learning in your course besides the content? What real-world skills will they develop as part of your course?

It is also important to allow for space and flexibility in our courses. Dr. Hutchison will often move assignments or create a buffer for his assignments to account for the busyness of student life. Gathering student feedback is crucial. Knowing when to request feedback – and what kinds of feedback to ask for – can help you build your class to benefit students.  

• FOCUS Blog: Introducing Servant Teaching  
• FOCUS Blog: Servant Teaching: Listening and Learning 
• FOCUS Blog: Four Practical Steps For Servant Teaching 
• Servant Teaching: Practices for Renewing Christian Higher Education